Peru hosts a prominent scientific facility of worldwiderenown: the Jicamarca Radio Observatory (JRO). This observatory stands out forhousing the largest and most powerful radar on the planet, specializing in theobservation and study of the upper layers of the atmosphere and the surroundingspace. Despite operating for 60 years, the JRO maintains its relevance throughcontinuous updates and its strategic location in the magnetic equatorialregion. This facility is owned by the Geophysical Institute of Peru andreceives funding from the United States' National Science Foundation, undercollaboration agreements with Cornell University.
The JRO aims to develop two radiofrequency systems (radiotelescopes) that, together with the Jicamarca radar, will form a multi-staticradar for the study of the ionosphere and geo-space. These stations will belocated at the Santa María Campus - PUCP and the Huancayo Observatory - IGP,respectively. Both stations will feature impressive characteristics, includinga frequency range of 10 to 80 MHz, 256 double-polarized antennas, multiplepointing directions, multiple reception channels, and SDR-type digitalreceivers.
The research topics addressed at these stations are diverse,encompassing both the ionosphere and the surrounding space. Aspects such as thedynamics and composition of the ionosphere, the physics of ionospheric plasma,the behavior of the mesosphere, ionospheric irregularities, and their impact onradio applications will be explored. Additionally, there will be a focus onsignal processing through radar imaging techniques and spectral signalanalysis.
In the field of radio astronomy, these stations will enableobservations of solar bursts and explosions, as well as studies onscintillations and space weather. Collectively, these initiatives solidifyPeru's position at the forefront of scientific research, leveraging the uniqueinfrastructure of the JRO and international collaboration to advance theunderstanding of the ionosphere and space.